UN secretary-general Ban Ki-moon has demanded that the US and Europe lead efforts to tackle climate change rather than wait for others to act.
Speaking on the day the UN confirmed reports that extra climate talks would take place in the run up to the main climate change summit in South Africa at the end of the year, Ban told the World Economic Forum summit in Davos that those who had led the industrial revolution had a moral and political responsibility to lead the development of a low carbon economy.
"The United States as a largest economy and superpower, this superpower of the world should take the political will, political leadership and invest in it," he said, outlining the case for low carbon economic models. "You have to do your own homework before waiting for others to do [theirs]."
Bemoaning "psychological games" that had hindered efforts at UN climate change meetings in Cancun and Copenhagen to agree a cap for global greenhouse gas emissions, Ban warned the world's belief in "consumption without consequences" had to change immediately.
"Climate change is showing us that the old model is more than obsolete. It has rendered it extremely dangerous. It is a recipe for natural disaster. It is a global suicide attack," he said.
Ban's address followed similar addresses by Presidents Felipe Calderon of Mexico and Jacob Zuma of South Africa, hosts of the Cancun and upcoming Durban climate change summits, who both urged the US to take stronger action to tackle emissions.
"It's the biggest economy in the world and the first or the second carbon emitter," Calderon said, before drawing a contrast between the US and China, who he praised for investing heavily in clean energy.
The two were backed by EU climate action Commissioner Connie Hedegaard, who predicted Chinese investment in clean tech would allow the country to steal a march on the US. "The Chinese are doing this because it's good business," she said. "It's not just something that we claim. We can prove that green and sustainable technology can create jobs."
Ban also encouraged businesses to play a more central role in tackling climate change as he launched a UN programme aimed at encouraging firms to share their sustainability expertise.
Chief executives of high profile corporations such as Siemens, Nestle, Shell and Unilever were among 54 companies to join Ban at the kick off of Global Compact LEAD, an effort to promote businesses' role in responding to global threats, including climate change, poverty and humanitarian emergencies.
The signatory companies are now required to share their knowledge through local networks in over 90 countries and work actively with UN agencies, funds and programmes to promote the UN's sustainability agenda.
All the participants are already members of the UN Global Compact scheme, in which companies pledge to align their operations with ten "universally accepted principles" in the areas of human rights, labour, environment and anti-corruption.
Members have also agreed to work towards the 50 criteria contained in the UN's Blueprint for Corporate Sustainability Leadership, which was introduced by Global Compact last year.
"Participation in Global Compact LEAD does not represent a "seal of approval" or endorsement by the United Nations," the UN said, explaining that the two year pilot programme "is designed to challenge highly engaged companies in the UN Global Compact to reach further, to experiment, to innovate, and to share learnings - both successes and failures".
Secretary-general Ban ki-moon told the group: "Through Global Compact LEAD, you can help guide the way to the level of sustainability performance our world requires from business today."
